The future is here...and its in Shanghai. As much as I have meandered from pillar to post, hung up my hat (albeit for a short time), unpacked my bags, had my passport stamped and eaten the chocolates off the pillow at night, I am pretty sure I have not experienced such variance from day to day as I have in Shanghai. Actually I am sure: if variety is the spice of life, then "life" is Shanghai. If your hankering is to be a culture vulture, then come to Shanghai. If your desires are more culinary in nature, then come to Shanghai. If it's inspiring and unusual design on your mind, then you can find it here. From the banks of the Huangpu River to the temples to the Yuan and the mind expanding open air art forays, the bodily senses are in a constant state of flux. All it needs is an open mind...and an open bank account. But one doesn't really mind...when you can top it all off at the end of the day with a fabulous Les Pardes de Haut-Bailly, Pessac Leognan, 2004 at Shanghai's Napa Wine Bar & Kitchen. Five years ago, all this was impossible but now.....well...maybe it's all just too much!
Lining the majestic Huangpu River, the life-blood of Shanghai, and the demarkation point between Puxi and Pudong, the Bund signifies everything that the Puxi side is...brash, bold and beautiful. Known in Shanghai first as the English settlement and then later as the "International settlement" (how thoroughly cosmopolitan), the Bund became the major financial hub of East Asia at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century, reaching its glamourous best in the 30's and 40's. Much of that Shanghai has disappeared but on the Bund today, you can still enjoy a taste of that elegance, albeit newly reinvented, and partake in world class food, drink and, I must say, company, in authentically swish deco surrounds. In fact, I was most fortunate to enjoy the wonderful hospitality of one such culinary establishment, M on Bund, and experience wonderful victuals and the wonderful views across the river to that amazing structure that is the Oriental Pearl. How could I top an experience such as that... by settling in at a similarly swish cocktail bar of course, right in the middle of Shanghai's Dolce et Gabanna store, a mere hop, step and stagger away on the Bund. I can't think of a more perfect place to enjoy a jaw-dropping Nicolas Feuillatte Cuvée Palmes d'Or 1996 champagne. As I have said before...anything is possible in Shanghai.
If Beijing is the beholder of the glorious past, Shanghai is the promise of a youthful and bright future. Bright lights, big noise and super sized Luis Vuitton beckons to all those with a will and a wallet to match. There is however also a soft, pleasing "boutiquey" side to Shanghai. Just off the glamour and glitz of Nanjing Road West where the decadent and status-conscious luxury shoppers hang, narrow tree-lined lanes abound with astonishingly narrow shop fronts of young designers, music makers and street stylists and poses a stark counterpoint to the more upmarket and high end European and American designers that liberally dot Nanjing Road. As exhilarating and enticing as I found the new Shanghai in these lanes, it was one of the quaint bijou cafes of the quarter that really appealed and convinced me to part with a fist full of Yuan. Actually it was the "Frosty Lemon Martini" I discovered on the drinks menu that really got me in. Where on earth did the proprietors find the Boru Citrus Vodka and Pallini Limoncello that one needs to mix with fresh lemon juice and sugar for this wonderful concoction? Of course...I was in Shanghai, where everything can happen...and probably will!
